In recent years, customers have become less and less dependent on their energy suppliers. They search for alternative (and more economical) energy sources to provide (part of) their utility needs themselves. It explains the success of solar panels and heat pumps. A trend that also has an impact on the future of energy companies.

Innovation is crucial on this changing playing field. Existing energy companies are busy with renewables. Established names in the energy sector undertake numerous initiatives themselves, but also acquire more innovative parties. It provides them with a strong story that fits the sustainable wishes and needs of private and business customers. All energy companies will have to prepare their own organisation and working methods in this way, if they are to be future-proof.

But a good and sustainable story is worthless if processes are inefficient and ineffective. Energy companies should therefore not only focus on sustainability, but also on data-driven work. The entire organisation will benefit from it.

It has always been important to thoroughly analyse financial data. The COVID-19 pandemic makes that more important than ever today. After all, it is also crucial within the energy sector to know whether someone is able to pay.

Payment problems often only come to light when something has already been installed, used or consumed. In many cases, considerable costs have already been incurred. If you include more data in the decision-making, then the difficult decisions are in any case better founded, which minimises the risks.

Data tells you a lot about the current state-of-affairs but can also provide an insightful glimpse into the future. This is important for companies in the energy sector, because - with the climate agreement in mind - there is still a lot to be done. Research & Development (R&D) in particular must now anticipate what is about to happen in the future.

Forecasting, for example, is a data-driven way of looking to the future. Where will the greatest energy needs come from? Which renewable ones are increasingly popular? And which innovations may sound interesting, but have too little potential to fully focus on? With the help of data analyses such as forecasting, you can respond to different economic scenarios.

Within the energy sector, many companies hardly have any customer contact moments. And the moments that there are, they often have a negative connotation: a customer leaves or has not paid.

However, a customer who feels valued is less likely to leave. It is precisely by using data that you are able to think along with your customer on an individual level and make a tailor-made offer. Like in the telecom sector. There, for example, customers get (temporarily) free access to paid channels when they place their mobile subscription and internet provider with the same provider. An energy company also has sufficient relevant customer data to be able to make such offers.

Data-driven work means less risk from a finance perspective, but from a marketing perspective, it maximises opportunities. With the help of marketing and sales data, your organisation is much better able to segment interesting target groups for specific marketing campaigns.

If we are talking about business customers, you can, for example, look at company size, solvency, etc. Then your sales department does not waste time on businesses that may find your new, energy-saving solution(s) interesting, but which does not necessarily belong to the target group.

You can, of course, only spend every euro once. Each marketing and sales process is ultimately assessed on that basis: what does it actually yield? If you include data in your marketing and sales processes, then you can at least be sure that you are not relying on a scattergun approach.

Whether it concerns minimising risks or maximising opportunities, as an energy company, you will have to work with data. With Graydon's high-quality business data, you are already able to respond to the challenges of today and those of tomorrow.

Detailed risk analyses support your finance department and streamline your customer acceptance processes. In-depth market insights provide direction for your policy in the short and long term. Which helps your marketing and sales department create content calendars, campaigns, and funnels. In short, Graydon supplies you with the data and insights that you can use to make the best decisions.